We have something we are unsure about - can anybody tell us anything about
it ?
It comes up all over the place - in Cracks, in gravel, in the borders and
all over the lawns... We want to know if it's something we should keep,
worry about or just pull up for the compost bin !

http://topqualityfreeware.com/plant/plant.html
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looks like ragwort to me. Don't let it flower as the seeds will go
everywhere, pull it up throw the roots in the bin and the leaves on the
compost.

it could be poached egg plant - a pretty (yellow and white) self seeding
annual.
Hayley

Ragwort. Bin as soon as possible.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

In a fit of excitement David Hill uttered:

Ragwort. Bin as soon as possible.

Thanks. I checked out a few more pictures here and there, and decided you
are right, It's ragwort.

What's so wrong with it - the flowers look pretty !
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In article , hayley hayley.ry
writes
it could be poached egg plant - a pretty (yellow and white) self seeding
annual.

There'd be more than one in each picture if it was that!

I too think it's ragwort.



--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

I am not convinced it is Ragwort. It just doesn't look right.

Could you describe the flowers please?

In a fit of excitement Helen uttered:

I am not convinced it is Ragwort. It just doesn't look right.

Could you describe the flowers please?

No flowers yet - I looked at other pictures of ragwort....
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Bigjon wrote:

In a fit of excitement David Hill uttered:

Ragwort. Bin as soon as possible.

Thanks. I checked out a few more pictures here and there, and decided you
are right, It's ragwort.

What's so wrong with it - the flowers look pretty !
--
\\(º`¿´º)//

Before anyone decides that I am talking nonsense and flames me for what
I am about to say. I have researched this matter very thoroughly and I
have a whole stack of scientific data to back up what I am saying.

What is wrong with it? Actually not a great deal in a garden situation.
It is a _mildly_ toxic plant but
there are far far more toxic plants grown in gardens. I have caster oil
plants ready to go out and they contain Ricin!. The fuss is all about
it being an occasional cause of cattle and horse deaths. Various figures
are bandied about claiming it causes huge numbers of deaths. However,
definitive diagnosis of ragwort poisoning is not an easy task. If you
look in the veterinary journals one of the criterion is is the plant's
presence, which given the problem being liver failure is not exacly
proof positive.
The actual figures where research has been done show that it takes
several stone of the plant to kill a large animal, so the real problem
is with the plant growing in abundance in pastures. i.e. people not
looking after their animals properly. (There is an example in the
scientific literature of a horse being fed in excess
of 20% of its body weight of _dried_ (therefore more concentrated)
ragwort and _surviving_!)

When you actually look at what people think about Ragwort toxicity there
is a lot of hysteria. Several websites claim that it is possible for
horses to be poisoned by breathing in the seeds. This is laughable,
given the actual level of toxicity.

There are also a lot of claims that the plant is invasive and that the
seeds spread easily. This isn't particularly true either.

Yes, the flowers are pretty . It is a composite and many of our nicest
garden plants belong to this family.
Cinereas are close relatives, often classified in the same Senecio
genus. I have been toying with the idea of growing a little Oxford
Ragwort, a relative originally from Sicily that is a very common weed. I
am looking for an early nectar source for an indoor butterfly house,
and it might fit the bill.

--
Neil Jones- http://www.butterflyguy.com/
"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog
National Nature Reserve

In article , Bigjon
writes
In a fit of excitement David Hill uttered:

Ragwort. Bin as soon as possible.

Thanks. I checked out a few more pictures here and there, and decided you
are right, It's ragwort.

What's so wrong with it - the flowers look pretty !

It's deadly to grazing animals - farmers have an obligation to get rid
of it if it appears on their land.
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason,
put jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see deadspam.com

Jane Ransom wrote:

In article , Bigjon
writes
In a fit of excitement David Hill uttered:

Ragwort. Bin as soon as possible.

Thanks. I checked out a few more pictures here and there, and decided you
are right, It's ragwort.

What's so wrong with it - the flowers look pretty !

It's deadly to grazing animals - farmers have an obligation to get rid
of it if it appears on their land.

Not entirely truthful. I am not surprised that someone has said this. I
knew someone would. There are organisations with an agenda who have been
putting out stories to the press and issuing leaflets saying this.
However, this does not make the two statements you have made true. The
first one I dealt with in my other posting. Ragwort is only _mildly_
toxic. This is what the scientific data say.

To illustrate the inaccuracy of what is being said about this plant,
let us look at the second statement.

"Farmers have an obligation to get rid of it if it appears on their
land."

You are saying this because the press stories and the leaflets say this
they say that this is what the Weeds Act says and therefore it is the
law. One can show this to be absolutely untrue by looking at what the
Act actually says.
----------------------------
(1)Where the minister of Agriculture fish and food(in this act refered
to as '
the Minister') is satisfied that there are injurious weeds to which this
act applies growing upon any land he may serve upon the occupier of the
land
a notice, to take such action as may be necessary to prevent the weeds
from
spreading
(2)This act applies to the
following injurious weeds, that is to say-
spear thistle
creaping or field thistle
broad leaved dock
ragwort
----------------------
It is a piece of legislation that provides for AN ORDER to be made.
There is nothing that says that you automatically MUST eliminate this
plant
from land.

This is like the legislation that exists to impose curfew orders on
kids. It gives the power
to act _where_a_problem_exists. It doesn't put an obligation on parents
to keep all kids indoors.
The Weeds Act creates no obligation for anyone to do anything unless
they are ordered to do so.

--
Neil Jones- http://www.butterflyguy.com/
"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog
National Nature Reserve

What's all this 'in a fit of excitement' malarky? I can assure I am relatively calm.

At the moment.

The message
from (Helen) contains these words:

What's all this 'in a fit of excitement' malarky? I can assure I am
relatively calm.

At the moment.

Stay calm; it's someone who has set "reply with quotes" to include
that wording. There's another who has urglers "huddling round the fire".

Laugh? I nearly....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Janet.

Whilst suffering some form of mental aberration Bigjon thinking he was
smart wrote that several of us were exhibiting emotions whilst replying to a
Question that we were in way experiencing at the time.
Still if it makes him feel good..................

I am surprised that Neil in his defence of Ragwort didn't mention it's value
as a food plant for the caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth (The small yellow
and black Caterpillar).


--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

In a fit of excitement David Hill uttered:

Whilst suffering some form of mental aberration Bigjon thinking he was
smart wrote that several of us were exhibiting emotions whilst replying to a
Question that we were in way experiencing at the time.
Still if it makes him feel good..................

I am surprised that Neil in his defence of Ragwort didn't mention it's value
as a food plant for the caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth (The small yellow
and black Caterpillar).

Sorry, but I have a posting style more suited to the Windows groups where
flaming is more often the norm. It is not meant to insult in this NG, but I
cannot keep swapping it around.
Apologies if you feel unduly put out by style, but as I am going to be a
regular to this NG, please don't take offence - The content of my posts
will always be civil and courteous in here...
(although not necessarily in some other NG's, where insults and flames are
thrown back and forth with glee !).


--
\\(º`¿´º)//
It's probably on http://support.microsoft.com/ somewhere....
If you can be bothered to look for it....